McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Position Boosted by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 66.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 251,333 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 100,093 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.20% of McKesson worth $143,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 742.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 59 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in McKesson in the third quarter valued at $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in McKesson during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 82 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. This represents a 40.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

McKesson Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE MCK traded down $10.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $583.51. The company had a trading volume of 722,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 651,394. The firm has a market cap of $74.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $464.42 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $595.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $560.90.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.88 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.77% and a negative return on equity of 207.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.23 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. McKesson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCK. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W upgraded shares of McKesson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of McKesson from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on McKesson in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $630.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $646.14.

McKesson Company Profile

McKesson Corporation provides healthcare services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Pharmaceutical, Prescription Technology Solutions (RxTS), Medical-Surgical Solutions, and International. The U.S. Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded, generic, specialty, biosimilar and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs, and other healthcare-related products.